Rich Russo

My career at IBM started during the junior year of my undergraduate studies as a participant in an internship program. The programming skills I had acquired at Iona, along with the internship experience, lead to a full time position that has lasted over 26 years.

The early part of my career focused on the development of multimedia classroom systems used in IBM training programs. I helped to design and develop student interactivity, media control, and authoring systems using a variety of programming languages including Assembly, Visual Basic, C, and REXX. As my career progressed I became the IT leader for an IBM conference center where I was responsible for development and support of classroom technology, interactive kiosks, electronic signage, networks and guest services.

In 2004 I decided that my technical skills could use some reinforcement. I returned to Iona to pursue a Master’s Degree in Telecommunications. The curriculum of this program gave me the foundation needed to move into my current position where I am a leader for the network, storage, server, virtualization, and cloud operations of the North American Technical Exploration Centers which provide support to the IBM Software Technical Sales team.

I owe my career to the faculty of the Iona Computer Science Department. The education, guidance and encouragement made it possible for me to achieve my career goals. The quality, convenience, and flexibility of the Master’s Program made it possible to work full time while improving my skills. The best thing I can say about both my undergraduate and graduate studies at Iona is that I was challenged not only to learn new material but to become a critical thinker and problem solver.

Take the Next Step

Computer Science Club Working on Drone Projects

Iona's Computer Science Club is currently working on human-drone interaction projects (e.g., drones designed to navigate to people in emergency scenarios) using their new programmable drones. Students are not only learning valuable skills but are enjoying the experience as well!

The World is Waiting

Many of our students start ventures or have jobs before they even graduate. Recently, after completing our popular course in iPhone Application Development, two students co-founded a successful company that develops apps for clients in the New York metropolitan area––a year before they received their diplomas.